Big blue-liner has talked to the Canucks

The Kelowna Rockets defenceman, who’s expected to be selected here Friday in the latter half of the first round of the National Hockey League draft, was 2½ years old when his famous father, Adam, paraded around the Pepsi Center in Denver with the Cup.

The physical defensive defenceman also made sure his son was in the room to savour the 2001 championship — a seven-game triumph over the New Jersey Devils — after also winning a Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. That was two years before Cal was born.

“I actually don’t remember anything from that (2001 Cup),” said the 6-4, 215-pound two-way blue-liner, who may be of some draft interest to the Vancouver Canucks, depending on how the first round plays out.

What Foote does remember is being around the Avalanche room, having a young Matt Duchene live with his family for two years, and how all that exposure gave him a leg up on how professionals function on and off the ice.

But what Foote remembers most is his dad being there every step of the way for him and his younger brother, Nolan, who just completed his rookie Western Hockey League season with the Rockets and is being projected as a 2019 first-round draft pick.

Nolan, 16, is already 6-3 and the left-winger had 19 goals and 26 assists in his rookie season. And he knows what his older brother knows — father knows best.

“My dad has been on my side since the very beginning,” said Cal, a native of Englewood, Colo. “When he retired (after 20 NHL seasons and stops in Quebec, Columbus and Colorado that spanned 1,154 games), he was my coach and Nolan’s coach for four years (Triple-A bantam and midget).

“When our family moved to Kelowna, he was always at our games. He was always giving us tips and pointers and it’s an advantage. I’m very fortunate.

“As a coach, he was loud. And the thing I really like about him are the details he brought to our team, even though I was 16 years old. He was very into it.”

What Foote was into from an early age is no different than other kids whose dads played in the NHL. He was wide-eyed when he first entered the room as a boy with a dream, and over the years he paid attention and made mental notes.

“I thought it was very cool to be in the locker-room and around all those special players,” recalled Foote. “You just sit back and watch what they do and, at the same time, respect what they do and respect their space.

“And it was very awesome to have Matt live with us for two years. He felt like an older brother.”

Foote is already two inches taller than his father and his game may pack twice the punch. While dad was a load to overcome down low as a dominant physical blue-liner, his son had six goals and 51 assists this season.

NHL teams took notice. The Canucks didn’t interview Foote at the NHL Draft Combine, but did talk to him during the season. They have the 33rd overall pick Saturday and if Foote somehow slides — or the Canucks make a pitch to land someone later in the first round by dangling their 55th overall pick — it could get interesting. Or not.

Big is an understatement. Foote has size-16 feet and getting them under a frame that’s still growing has been challenging.

“I hope they’re done growing,” chuckled Foote. “It’s definitely awkward and they’re still too big for my body, even though I’m a pretty big guy. But as I keep growing and get stronger, that should be easier for me to handle. Working on my foot speed had been my main focus.

“I’m always on the defensive zone first, but at the same time I want to be jumping up into the play and moving the puck and playing a two-way game.”

All that potential has Foote ranked No. 12 among North American skaters by the Central Scouting Bureau and No. 20 by TSN in its final ratings. A big body who can move the puck is becoming more rare in today’s game that’s trending smaller and faster on the back end.

That caught the Canucks’ attention.

“I met with them during the season, but you can’t read anything into it,” said Foote. “You’re wasting your time if you try to guess what’s going to happen. I don’t try to read into anything. I just have fun and live in the moment because it only happens once.”

Joining the Rockets was a no-brainer for Foote after being drafted by a franchise that has produced NHL blue-liners including Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Tyson Barrie, Alex Edler, Tyler Myers, Scott Hannan, Luke Schenn and Josh Gorges.

Did seeing all those players make a name for themselves in the NHL make a difference?

“For sure it did,” said Foote. “Pretty hard not to see all the players and defencemen they brought through and the successful careers they’re having in the NHL today.

“But it was also the grind of the 72-game schedule and the long bus trips, and the people in Kelowna really know what they’re doing (to get through it). It was a combination of all that.”

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